Day 1

1. Prior to class, block off a 3'x5' piece of the classroom floor so it is not visible from the students' desks. Arrange 6-8 objects randomly within the area. This will be your "undiscovered country." (As an alternative, you could use a larger outdoor area with several naturally occurring objects such as trees or rocks.)

2. Begin your lesson by asking your students if they have ever played "Telephone." Then ask a volunteer to describe the game. In the game, one person is given a phrase or sentence on a piece of paper. This person then whispers it to the next person. The next person turns around and whispers what he/she heard to the following person, and so on, until the last person has been whispered the phrase. By the end of the game, ask if the phrase is the same as what is on the paper. [Usually, there are differences and occasionally humorous ones.] Then explain, the first person in the game is a good example of a "first-hand observer" because he/she is seeing the exact phrase or sentence. Write "first-hand observer" on the board. The other players are receiving information second-hand. Write down "second-hand description." Explain to the students they will be playing "Telephone" with their eyes, instead of ears today. They will explore the difference between second-hand description and first-hand observation.

3. Divide the students into pairs and pass out one copy of Worksheet 1: Making Maps to each pair. Each student will have a chance to "explore" or observe the "undiscovered country."

• Partner #1: In the first round this person will be observing and describing the "undiscovered country" to his/her partner. In the second round, this person will draw a map from memory.



• Partner #2: In the first round, this person will be drawing a map based on his/her partners" observations. In the second round, Partner #2 will draw a map from first-hand observation.

4. Tell the students that each pair will be drawing three types of maps: the first map will be based on someone else's description of the "undiscovered country", the second map will be based on observations of the country, and a third map will be drawn from memory. If necessary, model how you would create a top-down view of a collection of objects.

5. Call partner #1 of each pair up to the "undiscovered country." Give them 30 seconds or so to observe the area, then have them return to partner #2 and describe the location of each feature while partner #2 draws a map. (Partner #1 should not be allowed to look at the map as it is being drawn.)

6. Call partner #2 of each pair up to the "undiscovered country" to draw a map based on first-hand observation. While partner #2 is drawing, partner #1 draws a map from memory.

7. When partner #2 returns, ask the students to compare the three maps and answer the questions at the bottom of the second page:

• What is one similarity between the maps?


• What are two differences between the maps?


• Rate the accuracy of each map on a scale of 1 to 5.


• How might you improve the quality of the maps?

8. When students have written answers to the questions, discuss their answers as a group. Students should conclude that the maps drawn while observing the scene tended to be more accurate in number of items, size/proportion of items, and/or position of items.

9. Place all maps in one area so students can compare differences among groups. Discuss why there might be differences among groups. Students might conclude that some people have more practice or more skill in drawing, that some people have a better memory for things they have seen, or that the position from which items were viewed affected the map.

10. For homework have students read Worksheet 3: The Louisiana Purchase and Adventures of Lewis and Clark , a short background piece on the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The reading highly focuses on the mapping perspective of these events. Tomorrow students will examine a copy of a map drawn before the Lewis and Clark expedition and a map drawn by Lewis and Clark. They will be looking for similarities and differences in these historic maps in the same way that they compared maps today.

Day 2

1. Tell students that they will be analyzing two historic maps of the West: one from before the Lewis and Clark expedition and one from after the Lewis and Clark expedition. They will be using the maps to see how second-hand information is often less accurate than first-hand observation. They will hypothesize how Americans' ideas about the West might have changed because of a more accurate and complete map.

2. Pass out the student Worksheet 2: Comparing Maps , as well as copies of Source 1: A. Arrowsmith map, 1802, and Source 2: Map of the Country Inhabited by the Western Tribes of Indians. (As an alternate, students could work with the maps on line). Students should also have access to a modern physical map of North America - possibly a map at their desks or a classroom map.

3. Help students identify the title of each map as well as the publication year, and record that information on the worksheet. It may be helpful for students to have magnifying lenses to help them read the fine print on the maps.

4. Ask students to identify the overlap of the historical map with the modern map, and also the overlap of the two historical maps. The latitude/longitude markings should be helpful for this. You may want to prepare strips of paper or pieces of yarn that can be attached to the latitude and longitude lines of the modern map to outline the area of the overlap. Have students fill in the latitude and longitude range for each map on the worksheet. (Definitions of both latitude and longitude are offered at the bottom of the worksheet.)

5. Tell students they will be comparing the physical features drawn on each historical map for continuity (things that stayed the same) and changes. Start by looking at the coastal areas the two maps have in common. Model how you would identify the Pacific Northwest coast on each map and compare the outline and level of detail. Record notes in the appropriate area of the worksheet. Ask students to identify a major river system, and compare the outline and level of detail. Discuss notes as a group, then record them on the worksheet. If students seem to grasp the process, let them continue independently with other river systems and mountain ranges. If not, continue to work through the maps and take notes as a group.

6. Synthesize the information by discussing what map features stayed the same (coastal areas, areas further east) and what map features changed (mountain ranges more extensive than earlier thought, many more rivers and detail on river courses). Ask what might account for these differences in the map (ease of water travel vs. inland travel, first-hand observation vs. hearsay, etc.). Remind the students about the differences in the maps they created in the previous lesson. Ask how these changed features might have affected Americans' understanding of the West (much more difficult to travel, but more exciting, not as mysterious now, possibility of new resources).

Homework assignment: Using the three questions in the "Pulling it together" section of Worksheet 2: Comparing Maps , write a paragraph comparing the two historical maps of the West.